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A draft report on the impact of gambling in Nova Scotia says that an estimated six people a year die as a result of problem gambling. The report, which is under much scrutiny from the Nova Scotia government, claims that about 20% of problem gamblers have experienced either mental or physical health problems because of their addiction and that there appears to be a link between problem gambling and suicide.
The government has disputed the findings saying that there were obvious flaws in its research but that hasn't stopped anti-gambling groups from applying for the release of the report from the province's Department of Labour under access-to-information legislation. The government refused to provide the study but both parties successfully appealed to the review officer to get the report released. The report which was submitted by a consultant in September of 2009 should be available for viewing in the coming weeks.
Based off the numbers we are seeing it doesn't appear that there is a huge correlation between suicides and problem gambling. Thousands of Canadians take their lives each and every year and it is difficult to discern whether or not the six person average takes into account the mental health of the people who claim to be problem gamblers prior to their addiction or whether or not other factors resulted in these suicides. Considering the fact that the government rejected the paper saying that it was flawed we can expect that the numbers would actually be a lot lower then what the paper estimates and even if we take the numbers at face value it is nothing compared to the rates of those who go to war, face bullying, lose a loved one, get a divorce, retire, or lose their job. The fact that anti-gambling advocates are attempting to use a flawed survey and the deaths of individuals who may or may not have anything to do with their cause to wage war against the industry is more than a little disturbing to say the least.
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates.
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